


The Mysterious Mansion in the Woods

by AliceWhitmore



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-06-27 08:24:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15681657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceWhitmore/pseuds/AliceWhitmore
Summary: Les Jacobs has gone missing and his older brother David sets out to find him...





	1. Prologue

“He’s not going to make it, we have to get rid of him now,” the voices coming through the door of the dark room were low and harsh. Les’ body felt like it was on fire, his mind was reeling from it and it took a lot of focus to make out the words through the pain. 

“We can’t! He’s just a kid, and this is our fault, we need to fix it.”

“It was an accident, it’s no one’s fault. And yes, he’s just a kid, that’s exactly why we need to get rid of him. He’ll never make it and even if he does, there will be people looking for him.” Another wave of pain hit Les and the ringing in his ears became earsplitting in a second. His hands shot up to cover them but it didn’t help, he doubled over on the little cot and tried to keep himself from throwing up. Again.

The ringing reduced back down to a low buzz after a few minutes but it felt like hours before Les finally brought his hands down and tried to take a deep breath. It was a shaky breath and it only made sharp pain shoot up his chest, but it was something. Les didn’t know where he was or how he got there, all he knew was that he was in a completely dark room with a cot and a bucket next to it for throwing up. He should probably be more scared but all he could focus on was the pain that had been consuming his whole body for what felt like days. Finally, he remembered to focus back on the voices.

“So it’s decided then, if he doesn’t make it, we’ll deal with that, if he does we’ll deal with that too, but we’re gonna wait and see.”

“I give him a day, tops”

“I think he’s stronger than that.”

“Fine, we’ll see”

The voices stopped after that and loud bangs that sounded like footsteps getting farther away rang in Les’ ears. He still had no idea what was going on but he didn’t have long to think about it before another round of shooting, burning pain consumed him. It only took about five seconds before he was leaning over and throwing up into the bucket, mostly bile. When he was done he was sweating and shaking. 

He missed Davey.


	2. Part One

The last two days were exhausting for Davey. Since Les went missing his house had been a flurry of crazy. Search parties were formed in his living room, detectives were questioning his whole family in the dining room, TV reporters wanted interviews of them standing on their front lawn. With all that had been going on, Davey hadn’t even had a chance to process what happened. His little brother was gone and no one knew if he’d ever get to see him again.

Maybe that’s why he was taking a walk in the woods by himself, just to clear his head and grieve a little bit. It was selfish, he could admit that, the last thing his parents needed was to worry about another child going missing. He just couldn’t take it anymore, everyone around him constantly crying, the empty reassurance that everything would be fine, the pity from neighbors, he needed time away from it all. Besides his parents wouldn’t worry too much, he told them when he’d be back and he was almost 17, no one would be interested in taking him.

The woods were peaceful, with the afternoon sun streaming in through the trees. Les loved this place, he used to beg Davey to take him there any time they could so that he could climb trees and try to build forts, it was his favorite place. Davey couldn’t remember the last time the two of them had been out here though. Several months, maybe? Les had asked plenty of times, but Davey was always so busy with school, work or band and had always said the same thing, “Next time, Les. Promise.” Thinking about it made him start to choke up a little and he realized that maybe the woods weren’t the best place to be right now. Still, it was the most private place in town, so Davey kept walking.

There had never been a disappearance before in his rural Upstate New York town. It just didn’t happen here. As far as Davey knew, nothing like this had ever happened in his life, no murders, no disappearances, no mysteries. This town was too boring for any of that, at least until now.

Inevitably Davey started thinking about if his brother never came back. It was dark to think about, it would be even worse than if Les had died, because at least then they could bury him and have some closure. He was a smart teenager, he knew the statistics about the likelihood of a missing child being found after 24 hours had passed, they were grim. If Les was never found it would cripple his entire family. The uncertainty would be crueler because there would always be a little hope that he’d come back, hope that would lead nowhere and would only cause them more pain. Because Les wasn’t coming back.

Davey had to stop walking then, he leaned against a tree nearby and took a shaky breath. That last thought had chilled him to the bone and for some reason it felt like his ears were ringing. Leaning his forehead against the tree, he took a few more deep breaths and it took a lot of effort to pull himself back together. Maybe he should let himself break down, at least he would be doing it alone instead of in front of his school or family. Still, there was a part of him that knew if he let himself break, it would take a lot longer than he could spend in the woods to put himself back together.

After a few minutes Davey could finally lift his head and for the first time he noticed that the sun had sunk below the treeline. He checked his watch and realized that he’d been walking aimlessly for almost three hours and he had no idea how to get home. It was almost dark, his parents were probably going crazy with worry. Not only that, but it would probably take him another three hours to walk back. He was so screwed.

When he looked up from his watch, Davey noticed a movement in the bushes a few hundred feet away and his eyes locked on it. It’s not even dark yet and I’m freaking myself out, he thought. Before he could look away and start his long trek back home the bush moved again and a boy ran out from behind it. The kid was booking it in the opposite direction and Davey stood there shell shocked for only a second before screaming, “Hey!” and running after him.

No, he had no idea why he was running after this kid or why the kid had been hiding behind the bushes in the first place but he was running after him anyway, something in his gut was telling him that he needed to follow. The kid was fast, like he was used to running and if Davey hadn’t been in Marching Band since 6th grade he might not have been able to keep up, but he was and he did.

They sprinted for almost half a mile before the trees opened up to reveal an open field with a big house in the middle. He had to stop in his tracks when he saw two tall guys were standing a few hundred feet away, right in his path. The kid he’d been chasing didn’t hesitate at all before darting behind the two men who turned to look at him. Davey was breathing heavily from the run and he probably looked wild and crazy with his dark hair messed up from the wind and his face as red as the nearly setting sun behind him. They whispered for a minute before all three of them looked up at Davey who felt frozen in his place. There were very few times in his life where he had felt like he was in over his head and in this moment he felt at least ten feet deep.

Very slowly, Davey took a step backwards, hoping in vain that maybe he could make an escape and never think about this again. But before he could start running the guys were walking in his direction. There was no way he’d be able to outrun them, not after the sprint he’d just done, he wouldn’t make it a mile before they caught him. So instead of trying he took a few deep breaths and stood up straight, maybe he could talk his way out of this. Whatever the fuck this was.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” it was the blond one who asked. As they got close enough to stand in front of him, Davey could see that the blond was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed off his bulging biceps covered in scars. The other guy was a redhead, only slightly less muscular and wearing a black leather jacket. Actually, Davey recognized him, it was the same redhead that picked up that kid Antonio Higgins from school everyday. The only reason he knew that is because Antonio was in his English class and while he waited with Sarah for their mom to pick them up after school everyday he’d see Antonio run out and jump in the dude’s arms when he saw him.

Davey couldn’t exactly explain that he was just walking, it sounded like a fake alibi. “I’m-I’m looking for my brother Les. He went missing a few days ago,” it was a pretty safe answer. Everyone in town already knew that his brother is missing anyway. The two guys glanced at each other briefly before turning back to Davey and for some reason the action made his stomach clench.

Without looking away from him, the blond barked out, “Finch, go get Specs.” With one last glance at Davey, the kid he’d been chasing ran off towards the large house. The two bodyguard sized guys continued to stand in front of him silently staring with only the occasional glance at each other. The bad feeling in his stomach increased as he started to think about what kind of situation he’d gotten himself into. His strongest theory at the moment was the house in the distance being some kind of mob headquarters. It would explain the intimidating henchmen. Maybe this “Specs” was the mob boss.

After a few minutes Davey could see the kid, Finch, on his way back with a tall, dark skinned guy in tow. When they got a little closer he could see the tall man was in a 3-piece suit and wearing glasses. Yeah, Davey had definitely stumbled upon some kind of mob headquarters - he was so dead. Specs, he assumed, walked up to stand next to the blond and took a look over Davey, like he was a puzzle the man was try to figure out. It seemed like minutes had passed by of everyone holding their breath, waiting for the newcomer to finally say something. Then he sighed deeply before saying in a smooth voice, “Fuck it, just bring him inside. I’m making this Jack’s problem.”

Before Davey could even think about who Jack was, let alone protest going anywhere near that house, the redhead grabbed his left arm and the blond took his right arm before promptly starting to drag him in the direction of said house. Struggling seemed pointless, the two guys who had a hold on him were too strong and he didn’t think it would be in his favor to put up a fight.

What would his parents say? Two sons missing in two days. His poor mom, she was going to be so upset. Thinking of his family, Davey tried to twist his head around to look back in the direction of town; of them, not really knowing if he’d get another chance. They had made it to the porch and were walking inside but it was no use, the sun had completely set and he could barely see to the tree line.


	3. Part Two

“Stay here,” the blond barked as the bodyguards unceremoniously dumped Davey on a couch near the front door. Apparently a verbal warning wasn’t enough because the redhead stood next to the couch, probably to make sure he wouldn’t make a break for it. Specs went directly upstairs and Davey took the time to look around. The mansion was huge, there were at least three couches in the living room and an almost movie theater sized TV. It didn’t necessarily look like a mob headquarters, in fact with all the empty beer bottles and bongs everywhere, it looked more like a frat house, but looks can be deceiving

After a few minutes Davey heard footsteps and looked up to see Specs coming down the main staircase, looking as unimpressed as he did when he first saw him, with another man trailing behind him. The other man who looked about 25, presumably Jack, had dark hair and tanner skin, a relatively sharp jawline, and was wearing…jeans and a blue t-shirt? There was a streak of grease on his face and his hands were almost black from soot, he looked like he’s been working in a garage. Ok so maybe the mob wasn’t a great guess, unless this Jack owned a car garage as a front.   
  
When Jack got downstairs he smiled wide and held out his hand to Davey, “Jack Kelly, nice to meet ya.” Yep, definitely a Don. Specs was standing next to him, like he was overseeing the whole interaction. Davey glanced over to where the redhead was still standing with his arms crossed intimidatingly before looking back to Jack who frowned. “I think we’ll be fine Al, I doubt this kid is gonna get the leg up on any of us any time soon,” he remarked pointly to the redhead. A mutual glare was shared between the two before Al left the room without a word. Davey did not want to know what that whole thing was about.   
  
“What’s your name kid?” Jack asked after turning back to Davey. There was just a twinge of an underlying southern accent in the man’s voice.   
  
“Davey Jacobs, sir” he answered, standing up to give Jack a firm handshake, it was what his father had always taught him to do to show respect.   
  
“No need for all that sir business,” Jack answered, stifling a laugh. “Don’t be so nervous. Come on, let’s sit down and chat.” Davey sat back on the couch as Jack sat in an armchair across from him, Specs seemed content to just lean on the back of Jack’s chair and give Davey suspicious looks.   
  
“Ok let’s chat. I just have some questions, like why I was dragged in here by two bodyguards against my will,” yeah, it was a risky move and yeah, Davey was already regretting it, but it was almost worth it to see the look on Jack’s face. Specs looked more on the irritated side while Jack had been completely taken aback. Which was good because he didn’t trust Jack’s friendly demeanor and he wanted him off his game.  
  
“Well I have some questions myself, like why you were trespassing on private property and terrorizing my foster son,” Jack answered after he’d recollected himself, right back to that easy smile.  
  
“He was spying on me!”   
  
“So you decided to chase him down onto private property?” Ok, Davey had to admit that he had a point there. Maybe chasing that kid wasn’t the best idea, but he hadn’t exactly been thinking when he’d done it. Besides, foster son? Jack looked way too young for that, there was something off about this story. “Kid, what’re you even doing this far into the woods?”  
  
Davey glanced at Specs, he was kind of dedicated to his story now, there was no way out of it. “Like I told those guys outside, I’m looking for my little brother Les, he went missing a few days ago.” Jack didn’t seem to be surprised by this, Specs probably told him this upstairs.  
  
“In all honestly, Specs thought you were making up a story to get out of trouble, that you were a vandal or a thief. We’ve had a couple instances with high school kids before, I guess they saw the ‘No Trespassing’ signs as a challenge,” Jack admitted.       
  
“That still doesn’t give you the right to drag me in here and interrogate me,” Davey shot back, he was tired of all this already.  
  
“You’re lucky Specs didn’t make a citizen’s arrest, you really scared Finch,” Jack said sternly. Davey just scowled at the ground in response. This was ridiculous, the whole idea of this mysterious house in the woods was ridiculous, he just wanted to go home. “I’m sorry about your brother,” he looked up to see Jack’s face had softened, become more sympathetic. Davey didn’t trust it for a minute. “If you don’t mind me askin’, why would your brother be all the way out here?”  
  
“He loves to play in the woods, I used to bring him here all the time. I know they already did a search and everything but I guess I just thought I’d look for myself,” Davey supplied. Jack and Specs shared a look that the teen couldn’t place. “My parents are probably worried sick about me, I really should get going.”  
  
“Right. Of course. Specs can drive you home,” Specs didn’t look too happy at those words. They seemed to have a habit of pawning things off on each other like that.  
  
“I’d rather walk.”   
  
“It’s already dark out kid, those woods are pitch black. I promise he’s not going to drive you into a lake, even if his driving says otherwise.”  
  
For some reason, Davey agreed. Maybe because he remembered the times him and Les stayed out too late and were terrified trying to get out of the woods, and now he’s deeper than he’s ever been.   
  
In the end there was no reason to worry, Davey never made it to the car.  
  
As they walked Davey out they passed the staircase and were standing in front of it to say their final goodbyes. There was a sound, weak but still intelligible, coming from upstairs, “Davey…”  
  
Everything after that happened so fast. Davey’s eyes went wide and he bolted, running to the stairs and taking them two at a time, he could hear the footsteps behind him. He called Les’s name the whole way up. At the top he heard his brother’s voice again, louder and clearer coming from the room at the end of the hall, it was a broken voice shouting his name.   
  
“Les!” he shouted back as he ran, he couldn’t believe these maniacs kidnapped his brother. The door was locked from the outside, Davey knew Jack and Specs weren’t far behind him so he wasted no time unlocking it before throwing it open. There was Les, in a dark, windowless room where the only things were a cot and a bucket next to it, his brother was in the cot, sweat soaking the sheets and shaking like he had a fever. Next thing he knew, before he could get another word out, pain exploded across the back of his head and he collapsed to his knees, holding his head in his hands as his vision started going black.   
  
“Davey!” he heard Les scream through the ringing in his ears before he felt a sharp pain in his neck and everything faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, whatever will happen next...


	4. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit, guess I'm still alive

Davey woke up more groggy than he’d ever felt in his life before. His head felt heavy and his body felt weak, he couldn’t remember where he was. When he opened his eyes he realized he was tied to a chair in a dark room. As his eyes adjusted he realized there was a light coming down from a set of stairs to his left, he also saw the silhouette of a man standing by the stairs.

The guy took notice of Davey and turned to shout up the stairs, “Jack! He’s up!” The sound send spikes of pain shooting through Davey’s head.  _ Fuck _ , he thought,  _ I’m going to be tortured and killed by some weird mob boss who kidnapped Les in some weird mansion in the middle of the woods where no one will ever find our bodies. _

Davey heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he instinctively swallowed, god his mouth was so dry, and he lifted his head up so he could face Jack like a man. Well, as much of a man as anyone could be with their hands tied behind their back and their ankles tied to the legs of a chair. Jack came into his view and pulled up another chair to sit in front of Davey, he was still wearing the same outfit as the last time he’d seen him. There was a moment of silence between them as Jack stared at Davey with calculating eyes before he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Next thing he saw, Jack was reaching for something and Davey tensed, but it was only a pack of cigarettes. The older man stuck one in his mouth before offering one to Davey, “You smoke?” The teen just shook his head and Jack put the pack back in his pocket before lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag. “That’s good, I’ve been meaning to quit. It’s a bad habit I picked up around the 17th century,” Jack stated after he blew out the smoke, no hint of joking in his voice.

Davey raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing kid.”

_ Fuck it, I’m already a dead man _ , “Why did you kidnap my brother? Who the fuck are you people?” He leaned forward as far as he could to get into Jack’s face and the ropes started digging into his wrists. Jack took another drag of his cigarette, still so frustratingly calm.

“You’re in way over your head kid,” Jack answered vaguely.

Davey scoffed, “Are you the mob? Is this some kind of safehouse? Actually, I don’t care, tell me what you did to Les.”

Jack let out a little laugh and Davey could make out smoke escaping with it from the minimal lighting. “You’ve certainly got some fire in you. That’s good, you’ll need that.” Then Jack leaned forward in his chair, getting close to Davey’s face, staring at him intently. “I didn’t kidnap your brother Davey. I turned him,” as he talked, Jack’s eyes started glowing red, so bright in the darkness of the room, and Davey gasped. “Your brother’s a werewolf.”

That snapped Davey out of his shock, “Wait, what?” The other man just leaned back in his chair, completely serious, Davey couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re kidding right? Nice light trick there but that ridiculous. You really think I’m going to buy that?”

Jack was still completely serious. “It was an accident. None of us expected some kid to be wandering around in the middle of the woods at midnight during a full moon. Technically, I didn’t turn him, Finch just lost control. We took him in, he’s been changing for the last few days upstairs, there’s some pretty bad side effects.”

Davey just stared at the man in disbelief, “You’re insane.”

“Yeah...” said Jack, looking off into the distance as he fidgeted with the cigarette between his fingers. “You’re probably right,” then he promptly jabbed the light end of the cigarette into his forearm, stubbing it out with a pained hiss. Davey’s eyes went wide, unable to look away from the mutilation. Jack threw the butt someone behind him before holding up his arm to Davey’s eye level and the teen watched as the ash filled burn slowly close until it was completely healed, leaving only a black mark. The beating of Davey’s heart sped up as Jack rubbed away the ash to reveal perfectly smooth skin. He didn’t believe his eyes, he’d been close enough to smell the burning flesh, and now there was nothing, he looked back to Jack’s face. “Believe me now?”

“That’s… That’s impossible,” he said in disbelief.

Jack nodded, “Should be. But here we are.”

“Is everyone here..”

“Yes. You can think of us as a pack, if that makes it easier.”

“That means Les..”

Jack’s expression softened, “Yes. I’m so sorry.”

Davey stared at the floor. “What am I going to tell our parents?” It was almost a whisper.

“Nothing,” Davey’s eyes snapped up at the hard edge in Jack’s voice. “You can’t tell them or anyone else about us or your brother,” Jack looked so serious, not leaving even a hint for negotiation.

“What? But we have to go home, our parents are worried sick! They think Les is dead, am I just supposed to pretend everything’s fine?”

“It should be pretty easy considering you won’t be seeing them anymore,” Davey looked up to see Specs was standing in the middle of the staircase with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face like usual. “Hate to interrupt,” he said in a tone that implied the exact opposite was true, “But someone here just couldn’t wait to see you.” Right on cue, Les came barreling down the stairs at breakneck speed and jumped into a hug with Davey.

“Davey!” he cried in relief, almost knocking the chair over when he hugged him. Davey noticed that Les’ hug was a lot stronger than he remembered. “Are you okay?” he asked quickly before turning to Jack, “Untie him, you asshole!”

Jack didn’t seem very fazed by the name, just started fishing something out of his pocket, meanwhile Davey couldn’t help but scold, “Language, Les!” His younger brother just rolled his eyes.

“Here,” Jack handed Les a pocket knife and he immediately jumped up to start working through the rope. In less than a minute, his arms were free so Davey grabbed Les in a real hug. God, it was great to know Les was okay, that he was alive and still in town.

“I’ll just leave you two to catch up,” Jack said, getting up from his chair. Davey glared at him, hoping Jack didn’t think he’d forgotten that tidbit Specs said about not seeing their parents anymore.

“This conversation isn’t over,” Davey hoped he sounded intimidating. Jack gave them both a soft smile.

“Of course not, but we can continue it later. Right now I think Les wants to spend time with his brother,” and with that, Jack disappeared up the stairs. What a dramatic guy.   

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty please feel free to make speculations in the comments, I love shit like that.


End file.
